2.0 Specifications

4.2"
x
4.2"
x
7.2"

1.6

Editorial Review

Sphero 2.0 is a ball. It bears a striking resemblance to other Sphero bots, like the Sphero Star Wars BB-8 Droid, but without the magnetically attached head. The Sphero's tennis-ball-like appearance is deceptive, hiding a microprocessor-driven, gyroscopic intelligence that turns him into a rolling, programmable ball-bot. Basically, Sphero 2.0 is a racing bot with powerful motors, one that can be controlled via app and that can perform gymnastics that would shatter a less robustly constructed spheroid into plastic rubble. He can bound down stairs, jump through hoops, and race other Spheros around the house. (Be careful you remember which Sphero is yours, unless they all belong to you.)

What's most impressive about Sphero 2.0 is the variety of rugged environments you can drive him through. Not only can he navigate your living room and your front yard, but he can swim across your pool without shorting out his circuits. You can reportedly drop him onto concrete from a height of three feet without shaking up his silicon guts, so you don't need to worry about jumping him off ramps (a pair of which are included) or running him off the edge of the wall in your front yard. Sphero can be driven from your smart phone and there are more than 30 free programs you can download from the App Store to play games with him, where Sphero 2.0 fights imaginary zombies on your lawn in augmented reality or plays a spaceship in interplanetary space battles.

But as you might expect from a "toy" by Sphero, the 2.0 is also educational, programmable using the kid-friendly MacroLab and OrbBasic apps, so kids can create their own games. (If they're good enough, maybe you can put them on the App Store.) A couple of others Sphero bots to look at are the Sphero Ollie, a rolling, programmable cylinder, and the Sphero Sprk+, a programmable ball with visible innards. For programmable bots from other companies, see the Anki Overdrive racing cars and the difficult-to-describe Makeblock Codeybot, all of which can hone your family's programming skills while they're having fun.

Sphero 2.0 |
Reviewed by Botdb |
Rating: 4.5

2.0 Reviews From Around The Web

It seemed like an expensive toy but the app has so much growth and options, she has had a blast with it. It is very entertaining.